Aspen Tumbles as Drugmaker Faces Pressure From Pricing Probe

Aspen Tumbles as Drugmaker Faces Pressure From Pricing Probe

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. fell the most in more than a month after The Times of London reported that Africa’s biggest maker of generic drugs is in a dispute with Spanish authorities over proposed price increases on some cancer treatments. Employees at the Durban, South Africa-based company discussed destroying a stock of cancer drugs in Spain if a demand to raise prices by as much as 4,000 percent wasn’t met,…

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Sibanye to Raise $2 Billion in Equity, Debt for Stillwater Deal

Sibanye to Raise $2 Billion in Equity, Debt for Stillwater Deal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sibanye Gold Limited plans to raise $1 billion from shareholders and a further $1 billion in debt, most likely bonds, to pay for the acquisition of Colorado-based Stillwater Mining Co. The funds will be raised by the middle of this year and will help repay a $2.65 billion bridge loan from a group of banks, Westonaria, South Africa-based Sibanye said in a statement Tuesday. The remainder of the loan will be repaid…

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Foreigners Lapping Up Egypt’s Growing Supply of Cheap Debt

Foreigners Lapping Up Egypt’s Growing Supply of Cheap Debt

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – A flood of new issuance is offsetting foreign-investor demand for Egyptian debt, keeping yields among the highest in emerging markets. Offshore investors boosted holdings of government Treasury bills to 79 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) as of April 4, compared with less than 1 billion pounds before a currency devaluation in November, according to Finance Ministry data. Government borrowing is already 11 percent higher than the target this year, and…

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Senegal to issue Eurobond in April, Finance Minister Says

Senegal to issue Eurobond in April, Finance Minister Says

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Senegal will issue a Eurobond this month in order to finance a series of infrastructure and power production projects that it hopes will push economic growth above 7 percent from next year, Finance Minister Amadou Ba said on Friday. Ba declined to give the amount of the issuance or its maturity. The West African nation is rated B1 by Moody’s and B+ by Standard & Poor’s. “I think that the…

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South Africa’s Gigaba pledges to stave off third downgrade, meet with Moody’s

South Africa’s Gigaba pledges to stave off third downgrade, meet with Moody’s

CAPE TOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s new finance minister pledged on Thursday to do what he can to keep the country from a third credit downgrade to junk status, saying he would meet ratings firm Moody’s to persuade it he will stay on the path of fiscal discipline. Malusi Gigaba, who replaced the respected Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle that triggered credit downgrades to sub-investment by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch, told…

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South Africa’s Shoprite looks beyond Africa to Eastern Europe

South Africa’s Shoprite looks beyond Africa to Eastern Europe

CAPE TOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa’s biggest grocery retailer Shoprite is considering a push into Eastern Europe, where it hopes to use knowledge gleaned from former suitor Steinhoff International, its new CEO told Reuters. The move signals a change in strategy for Shoprite under Chief Executive Pieter Engelbrecht, 47, as sovereign rating downgrades and a weak economy cloud prospects at home. It also leads it down a competitive path crowded with established retail giants…

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South Africa’s bourse to review trades around Gordhan’s recall

South Africa’s bourse to review trades around Gordhan’s recall

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s bourse will investigate an increase in the trading of certain securities in the hours before former finance minister Pravin Gordhan was recalled from an international investor roadshow, BusinessDay newspaper reported on Monday. On March 27, news broke that President Jacob Zuma had ordered Gordhan to return immediately from a trip to Britain and the United States. Gordhan was later dismissed in a cabinet reshuffle. The newspaper reported…

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